This invention relates to an insect repellent and insecticide, particularly for bees and wasps which contains acetic acid and an essential oil such as an edible plant oil soluble in ethyl alcohol or a limonene.
Insects breath by means of tubes which open at the body surface in spiracles. The tubes divide into very fine branches leading to all the organs. The spiracles are water repellant but oil may enter through them.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,871,949 discloses a composition of matter and the process of preparing it as an insect and rodent repellent. Specifically, this patent teaches the use of mixing oil of peppermint, sodium benzoate, sulphonethylmethane, animal glue, wood alcohol and water. This composition apparently hardens and sets on the material in which it is placed but it is not fully effective in repelling insects.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,473 discloses a composition of matter for repelling bees, consisting of acetic acid in an aqueous solution. This particular patent does not disclose the use of an essential oil.
Insecticides previously used have taken a variety of forms. Some have been oil based and in practically every case, they have contained chemical compositions which, in certain concentrations, can become harmful to the environment.